Six candidates seek to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN chief

Four women and two men are seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres as United Nations secretary-general, at a time when the UN is facing global instability, wars and a severe budget crisis.

The six candidates are Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana and Macky Sall of Senegal. Observers cited in the source said it is difficult to identify a favourite because major powers are divided, although Grossi, who heads the UN nuclear watchdog, has been repeatedly mentioned.

The Security Council chooses the future UN chief before sending the name to the General Assembly for approval. A candidate needs nine votes on the 15-member council and must avoid a veto by any of the five permanent members: the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia.

Bachelet, 74, is a Chilean socialist who was tortured under Augusto Pinochet's regime and became Chile's first woman president in 2006. She later served as UN human rights chief, a role in which she drew criticism from some countries, especially China, after reporting on Beijing's alleged abuses of the Uyghur minority. Bachelet has said the secretary-general should have a moral voice even under pressure from major powers. Mexico and Brazil back her candidacy, but Chile withdrew its support after far-right President Jose Antonio Kast took office. The United States has criticized her, including over her support for abortion rights.

Espinosa, 61, is a former Ecuadorian foreign minister and a former president of the UN General Assembly. She has called the United Nations the only universal platform for dealing with shared challenges and has also called for deeper reform. She has suggested an early warning system to detect and flag signs of possible conflict. Antigua and Barbuda back her candidacy, but Ecuador does not.

Grossi, 65, is an Argentine career diplomat who has led the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019. His current role has put him at the centre of issues involving Iran's nuclear programme and the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. He did not step down from the IAEA to campaign for the UN job, saying that would be a dereliction of duty. Some observers say he has pushed more strongly for UN reform and believes the secretary-general should take a more hands-on role.

Grynspan, 70, is a former Costa Rican vice president and leads the UN trade and development body UNCTAD. She took leave from that role to campaign for secretary-general. In 2022, she helped broker the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kyiv to allow grain exports after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She has highlighted her family history as the daughter of Jewish parents who she said barely survived the Holocaust before emigrating to Costa Rica. She has said the UN has become a risk-conservative organization.

Rodrigues-Birkett, 52, is Guyana's former foreign minister and currently serves as the country's ambassador to the UN. She has said the United Nations needs to restore its credibility. She said the UN is often judged through peace and security, but also works in development and human rights.

Sall, 64, is the only candidate not from Latin America, the region from which convention suggests the next UN chief should come. The former Senegalese president has stressed the link between peace and development. Burundi, the current chair of the African Union, proposed him, and Senegal backed him this week. Senegalese authorities accuse him of violently repressing political demonstrations that left dozens dead between 2021 and 2024.